Armored Beak / Mandibles: As he burrows his way through soil, Trehmarex is guided by his massive, armored head. Sleek, heavily constructed, and equipped with three hooked beak-like projections, the kaiju’s plow-like head is superbly designed to penetrate and displace soil as he burrows, all the while protecting the nerve tissues within from injury. His “lower jaw” actually comprised of two independently mobile, partially serrated mandibles, Trehmarex’s fairly powerful bite can cleave flesh from bones, snap smaller limbs like twigs, and provide an exceptional grip on his struggling targets, be they prey or kaiju adversaries. Even without using his fearsome jaws, Trehmarex’s armored head makes for quite a formidable club-like bludgeoning weapon.

Rudder / Bludgeoning Tail: Used normally for maintaining his balance while standing, and for shifting his direction when gliding and burrowing, Trehmarex’s long, flattened tail provides him with a rather effective rudder and counterbalance. Plenty powerful enough to support Trehmarex’s weight should he rear back on it, his tail additionally functions as a decent bludgeoning weapon in combat.

Protusile Lancing Tongues: Within Trehmarex’s throat is an array of six long, sinuous tongue-like appendages. Retracted tightly against the walls of his throat when not in use, these six whip-like appendages – each of which is tipped by a sharp gaff-like rod of chitin – can quickly extend from the alien’s open maw, and function as delicate manipulators for gleaning off carcasses and for probing his surroundings in search of small prey. If the chance presents itself, Trehmarex will use these hook-tipped tongues on his daikaiju enemies, using them to flay flesh from bone once his jaws have taken hold, or whipping them about erratically outside his mouth as a dizzying distraction.

Bio-Jet Propulsion System: Unique amongst all but two known kaiju, Trehmarex is propelled through the air not by flapping his wings, but by a complex internal array of biological jet engines. Trehmarex’s apparatus appears to work like that of a bombardier beetle, which produces and stores two reactant chemical compounds in separate reservoirs; when he sees fit, the kaiju is believed to loosen the muscular valves that keep his reservoirs sealed tight, which is done by vigorously shaking his torso and tail (the locations of each pair of his bio-jets). Once freed, the two chemical compounds likely flow into a single, reinforced chamber, where they react violently with one another and with the atmosphere outside, producing an intense explosive thrust that can propel the kaiju at over 470 m/ph. The pressure building up within triggers the individual reservoirs’ exit valves to seal up, which protect them and the alien’s other internal organs from potential chemical backlashes. Serving primarily to explosively launch Trehmarex from ambush after his startled prey, these bio-jets also facilitate a means of shooting the alien high into the sky in his search for prey or new hunting grounds or, when one considers the kaiju’s thermosensory vision, as a form of “visual” display amongst his own species. When engaged in combat with other SuperGiant Organisms, Trehmarex has been known to turn his bio-jets on them as flamethrower-like weapons, burning and even melting flesh, frying nerves beyond repair, and outright igniting certain integuments like fur and feathers. When used in short, concentrated bursts, Trehmarex can use his thrust to ram himself into opponents head-first, repel them with shotgun-like blasts of concussive heat, or even speed up a battering strike from his tail.

Flight / Gliding Capabilities: Once he has achieved a certain altitude after a launch, Trehmarex will spread a pair of relatively short membranous wings and take to the skies, gliding about with surprising speed and agility. The kaiju will keep himself aloft by periodically using his bio-jets for upward thrust; if startled or in pursuit of a fast target, Trehmarex will fold up his wings and free-fall to gain more speed. When not in use, Trehmarex’s wings fold down tightly against his back, their armored support struts protecting the delicate membranes from potential injuries.

Atmospheric Vacuum Tolerance: An ability totally unknown in Terran species, Trehmarex is apparently capable of surviving in the atmospheric vacuum of outer space. Additionally, he can forcibly escape a planet's gravitational pull and survive re-entry, from/onto Earth-like planets at the least. How he is biologically capable of these astounding feats is yet to be understood by the scientific community.

Shovel Scutes: Much like the humble earthworm, Trehmarex is primarily a fossorial, or underground-living, creature, spending much of his time at or beneath the surface of the soil. Also like the Terran earthworm, the kaiju has an array of crampon-like appendages to pull his bulk along underground. Whereas earthworms are covered in fine, stiff bristles called setae for use in underground movement, Trehmarex instead sports 12 large, shovel-like scutes along the outer sides of his legs; his legs pointing backwards as he digs, the kaiju’s muscular scutes swivel forward and back, digging in and pulling the alien through the dirt. While useless as weapons, Trehmarex’s scutes are what permit him to burrow in the first place, and are strong enough to function as light-duty armor for his otherwise unprotected thighs.

Impact-Resistant Hide: Due to his rough-and-tumble burrowing lifestyle, Trehmarex’s partly segmented skin is particularly thick and leathery. Built to resist – if not outright deflect – falling earth and stone as he travels, the monster’s hide also grants him a significant means of defense against military and daikaiju onslaughts. Being almost completely smooth for ease of burrowing, Trehmarex’s skin has the uncanny ability to deflect even edged weapons like claws and slashing spines.

Triple-Threat Athlete: Owing to his long, powerful legs, his twin membranous wings, and his exceptional burrowing capabilities, Trehmarex is a triple threat in terms of mobility. Sprinting across the ground at considerable speeds, burrowing through it as nearly as quickly, and gliding through the air with grace and agility, the alien annelid is easily among the most versatile-moving kaiju known.

Seismosense: Like many burrowing animals, Trehmarex can detect seismic vibrations through the ground; in his case, primarily with his spring-like feet. If necessary, the kaiju can increase his range of sensitivity by lowering his head to the ground, his twin mandibles detecting vibrations in addition to his feet. Trehmarex uses this ability not only to detect distant prey, but to detect and identify potential threats from a safe distance, giving him plenty of time to react accordingly.

360° Thermal Vision: Sitting atop Trehmarex’s beak-like head is an oddly delicate-looking pair of struts, with a translucent membrane spanning between them. Seeing as the monster lacks eyes altogether, it is believed that this flap is a thermosensory organ, allowing the monster to “see” the world around him on the basis of temperature (as opposed to using light, like the eyes of Terran animals). When not in use, this flap folds back against Trehmarex’s head, protected from harm; it is believed that this thermosensory flap grants the kaiju a 360° view of his surroundings.

Weaknesses:

Eyeless: Obviously, Trehmarex is lacking in eyes altogether (at least, eyes that we have recognized as such…). Currently residing on a planet where nearly all of his adversaries have eyes, this aspect of the alien’s anatomy can understandably land him in some serious danger.

Hydraulic Puncture: Trehmarex is unique amongst known organisms in that his musculature is almost entirely hydraulic (based on the movements of fluids) in nature. “Pushing” his bones instead of “pulling” them like Terran muscles do, these bizarre hydraulic muscles do have their drawbacks: if a vital muscle is punctured enough, it will be unable to operate and will leave Trehmarex temporarily crippled. Even if the muscle is left intact, should its hydraulic fluid ever be drained out entirely, the muscle will be unable to function: either way, with only a few well-aimed, hard-hitting blows, Trehmarex can be taken out of commission for quite some time.

Personality: Trehmarex is one of the more “simple” daikaiju, in terms of his mental capacity. Instinctual, almost animal-like in his tendencies, the alien cares not for intellectual pursuits, for he devotes his entire life’s efforts to self-preservation, and little else. Reliant on only the senses his species has so far evolved, Trehmarex performs day-to-day activities in a distinctly different way from other, more “normal” kaiju; essentially, Trehmarex is “all-or-nothing” in terms of his daily behavior. Spending most of his time asleep just beneath the soil, the kaiju will immediately wake if he detects any sizeable seismic activity and, if hungry or intrigued, he will quietly submerge into the earth and burrow towards the activity’s source. While not a glutton by any means, Trehmarex is well known to “eat first and ask questions later”, and he will attempt consuming just about any attention-catching object once. Since he lacks the senses of sight and smell, Trehmarex may be a bit…overly responsive to potential food stimuli, whether the “food” object turns out to be edible or not; if not, he simply regurgitates it and moves on. One particular bit of knowledge that Trehmarex has held onto is that regarding a complete and utter hatred for one of his fellow kaiju extraterrestrials: The Visitor. Somehow, it appears that The Visitor and Trehmarex have crossed paths before their arrivals on Earth; during that time, the two competing aliens forged a truly ferocious rivalry. Both kaiju actively despise each other, and have attempted to kill each other on every single documented occasion that they’ve met.

Combat Strategy: Under normal circumstances, Trehmarex tends not to engage in combat, saving his aggression primarily for hunting. Waiting in ambush from just beneath the ground, Trehmarex habitually prefers flying creatures as prey; when a flyer of interest passes high overhead, he launches from hiding with his bio-jets, surging towards his target and ripping off the first appendage that his mandibles can get around. Often fatally crippled, the flying victim steadily falls to the ground, with Trehmarex in cautious pursuit; once grounded, the prey is pinned down and dispatched. Land prey is similarly ambushed, but ran down on foot rather than launched after. When engaged in combat with other SGOs, Trehmarex tends to modify his hunting strategies to the situation at hand, performing crippling aerial hit-and-runs on flying opponents, and charging, mauling, and dragging around terrestrial foes from above and below ground. Defensively, Trehmarex relies upon his bio-jets as deterrents and his rubbery skin as his actual defense; if given the chance, Trehmarex will dodge and evade his opponent’s strikes by taking to the sky or to the earth.

History: As an alien, Trehmarex’s true origins are unknown, though, based on his current preference in Terran habitats, he is believed to have come from some sort of planet dominated by hot, loose-soiled plains and deserts. Wherever the kaiju came from, something clearly forced Trehmarex to flee his home and seek more suitable shelter elsewhere in the universe.

Trehmarex first definitively appeared on Earth on July 7th, 2003, in a small valley in northern New Mexico. He apparently stalked around the valley for several weeks after his arrival, raiding cattle herds, inadvertently destroying property, and generally causing chaos with local farmers and ranchers. While plenty aware of the existence of SuperGiant Organisms by this time, local law enforcement wholly discredited the idea of a “giant flying worm with legs” running amok across the valley, and therefore did nothing in regards to stopping Trehmarex’s rampage.

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Trailing the unknown monster as it headed northwards, Gilarah eventually found the bizarre beast wandering about the otherworldly Mammoth Hot Springs of Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, its senses seemingly enthralled by the ambient heat and chemical seeps. The monster had already proven itself to be a threat – it had leveled a small town just to the south of Yellowstone – and was showing no signs of remorse or regret: the beast must be dealt with. Erupting from the caustic soil, Gilarah took stance and bellowed a threatening roar to the strange beast, to which it soon responded with an earsplitting, shrieking roar. Turning to face the brass-and-black interloper, the alien kaiju flared its wings and leaned its tail upwards, spouting chemical flame from two openings in its tip. Emitting yet another earsplitting roar, the alien suddenly fell silent as a new, yet familiar bellow erupted nearby; also taking note of the sound, Gilarah turned and witnessed the rage-filled approach of a familiar, formidable enemy.

The Visitor.

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Nearly two months after his three-way battle with The Visitor and Gilarah in Wyoming, Trehmarex was reported seen in Badlands National Park, South Dakota, apparently sustaining himself on the pronghorn herds known to live in the region. As he presented relatively little danger in such a remote area, the SGOC decided to grant the alien asylum in the Badlands, and a small fleet of thumper-trucks was soon purchased for dissuading Trehmarex from approaching the nearby Pine Ridge Indian Reservation without the SGOC’s knowledge. To safeguard the several thousand tourists and fossil hunters that visited Badlands National Park annually, the National Park Service proposed the Subterranean Xenofauna Evasion Act, which would require by law that all civilian ventures into the area have an SGOC-certified thumper-truck escort.

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Artist's Commentary: This is DOD’s resident Subterranean Devil, Trehmarex. A while back, while working on concepts for DOD Series Two, I somehow came up with the idea of a burrowing/running/flying worm-like alien (it’s been a long time since then, the details are quite hazy to me), which I named “Trehmarex” in reference to the words “tremor king”. As a burrowing worm-like alien, my primary source for Trehmarex’s inspiration was obvious: Graboids, the subterranean monster worms from the “Tremors” film franchise. I incorporated features from all four (yes, there’s four) stages in the Graboid life cycle, as well as features inspired by fictional alien fauna such as Wayne D. Barlowe’s Arrowtongue, and one of the extremely talented/creative ’s Snaiad natives, the Seismopus kurash, or “See-Rex”. Character-wise, Trehmarex was always intended to be sort of like a Graboid, though he lacks their supposed “high intelligence”. On a final note, in case you’re wondering what a thumper-truck is: www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/… .

Artistic Notes: — In terms of build, proportions, and stance, Trehmarex is most similar to the Arrowtongue from the novel “Expedition” and documentary “Alien Planet”. See here: waynebarlowe.files.wordpress.c… .— Trehmarex has two short, tube-like toes per foot. His legs have four moving joints apiece.— Trehmarex has six scutes on the outer side of each leg; the inner sides of his legs have no scutes.— Trehmarex has two mandibles that make up his “lower jaw”; these mandibles fit neatly against his upper jaw when his mouth shuts. The mandibles can move around independently.— Trehmarex has a total of eight support struts on his back, with four struts per wing.— Trehmarex has a total of four bio-jet thrusters on his body; the first, larger pair is located on his “shoulders”, while the second, smaller pair is located at the end of his tail.

I understand, just thought he might look slightly too similar. It's a very hard line to walk, the homage I mean. Too far one way and no one will get it, too much on the other and people will complain it is a ripoff. Treh' here seems to be on the line in my mind at least, though leaning a bit.

I agree, though I illustrated him about a year and a half ago, so lessened creativity with his design is to be expected. The differences between his appearance and the Graboids' was mentioned in the Artistic Notes section.